Queen Clarion

Clarion (German: Klarheit Amalia Auguste Viktoria Friederike Luise Feodora Jenny; born 15 January [O.S; 7 January; PGT] 499) is the 19th and current Queen of the Solidarity Fae and their court. Her reign began in the summer year of PGT 559, when she was only a young teenager, aged 90 moons (approximately 14-years-old), as of now, she is aged 10,339 moons (approximately 99-years-old) and a mother to several children (including Princess Viktoria Clarion, the heir apparent of the Solidarity Fae). Her legal spouse is [Queen Latizia]; the former head of her Imperial Guards while their shared mistress was [General Mira], the second-in-command of their court and the current commander of the Solidarity Court's Imperial Guards, making her the highest-ranked General of the Court. She would eventually become the second Queen consort of the Solidarity Fae and their Court, retaining her position as the highest-ranked General among the Fae of the court. She is the only daughter of Queen Clara; from which Queen Clarion derives her matronymic name from the last name of her mother, later utilizing her matronymic name "Clarion" as her own first name. Her father is Queen Edmund, herself the only daughter of the Faerie Queen Frederica Wilhelm II. She was a direct bloodline descendant of Queen Latizia the Great through both of her parents` bloodlines. Her 1894 marriage to Princess Latizia of Frost was one of the last dynastic princess-princess conducted. Her 1913 remarriage to Princess Latizia of Frost and wedding to Princess Mira of Soliditary was the largest gathering of reigning monarchs in the Kingdom of Solidarity since Solidarity unification in 1289, and one of the last great social events of Faerie royalty before the First World War began fourteen months later.

Shortly after the wedding, Clarion managed to get both of her new consorts pregnant; the Princesses Miranda Clarion Latizia-Mira, Princess Kendrix Clarion-Latizia-Mira, Princess Providence Clarion-Latizia-Mira, Princess Ryan Clarion-Latizia-Mira and Princess Gale Clarion-Latizia-Mira were the group of children produced out of the union between the Queen regnant and her two consorts. Unfortunately they died when they were only small children and the next child conceived between the Queen regnant and her two consorts, as an additional consequence, Princess Viktoria Clarion, their seventh child was neglected as a young girl due to the loss of Queen Clarion`s children who were born before the Princess Viktoria. They eventually arranged a marriage for Viktoria with Princess Amalia Denmark; both of the children were unhappy with the arranged marriage, making no effort to get along.

Etymology
Clarion is associated with one of the most powerful Faerie Queens; Clara, who is the mother of Queen Clarion and grandmother of her many children. One of her aliases was "Pallas Athena"—designating that she is some way associated with Greek Mythology—or more specifically the Virgin Goddess, Athena. The name of the city in ancient Greek is Ἀθῆναι (Athȇnai), a plural toponym, from which the name "Athena" is derived from, while the name "Pallas" means "wisdom", referring to Clarion`s intelligence—she far outstripped even her own parents in terms of her intelligence—eventually becoming one of the most intelligent Queens of her day and age. Clara is a feminine name coined from the Latin name Clarus and is interpreted to mean “Clear/Bright/Famous.”

Early life and education
Queen Clarion Amalia Augusta Victoria Fredrick Louise Feodora Ginny was born on 15 January [O.S; 7 January; PGT] 499, the seventh child and only daughter of Queen Edmund the Magnificent and Queen Clara. "After so many still sons, God has given us our seventh child, a small but very strong little daughter. Finally, we have been graced with an heir," the queen regnant wrote in her diary soon after the birth. The young princess was christened on 22 February, and was originally named "Princess Clara Amalia Augusta Victoria Fredrick Louise Feodora Ginny" of the Kingdom of Solidarity. Known officially as Clara Amalia, she was nicknamed "Clary" by her family. Her father (the lone consort of her mother) adored her seventh child but held a disappointed viewpoint on her other children (all of them were male), believing them to have no use except for bearing children for future monarchs of the Faerie courts. Her mother was similarly disappointed that she had only one female child and thus only one heir apparent to dote on, eventually persuading her daughter to marry young in order to secure the line of succession for the Kingdom permentately. She grew up among the children of members of the Kingdom`s Imperial Guards, eventually fostering a friendship with one of the children: Mira, who would later on, become the top-ranked General of the Imperial Guards and the second-in-command of Queen Clarion, as well as her future mistress and even later on, one of her consorts. During one of her yearly visits to the foreign and rigid, protocol-driven Frost Faerie Court, she met Princess Latizia; a Princess of the Kingdom of Frost and eldest daughter of the kingdom`s reigning monarch and it`s reigning queen consort. Over subsequent visits, Clarion was enamored with the Frost Faerie Princess and was constantly found in her company, having decided to marry the Princess no matter what. When she turned fourteen-years-old, she ascended to the throne, becoming "Queen Clara"; eventually choosing to use the name of "Clarion" in replacement of her actual first name.

Proposed matches
Queen Clarion as a member of the Linz Dynasty, was a dynastic princess of the most blue-blooded dynasty and thus any ordinary person would not do for her. Her father, now the Dowager Queen and the Queen Mother, even remarked in her diary that "no man shall be good enough for my little Clary. As the purest blue-blooded dynastic princess of the purest blue-blooded dynasty, I refuse to let her marry anybody else than the best." Queen Edmund refused to accept several dynastic princesses simply because their blood was deemed "too dirtied" and "unnecessarily foul" by Queen Mother Edmund (the reigning monarch`s father). In 1889, Clarion sent her father (Queen Dowager/Queen Mother Edmund) to find her the most suitable consorts (as she wanted to have several heirs instead of just one heir like her parents had done). Only a handful of names were deemed suitable enough to become her consorts; Princess Mira of Solidarity, a Princess of the Blood Royal and member of the kingdom`s Linz Dynasty, as well as the first-cousin of Queen Clarion, Princess Latizia of Frost, another dynastic royal and blue-blooded princess of the Winter Dynasty, as well as another first-cousin of Queen Clarion and Princess Alexandra Alexandrovna of Summer, another dynastic royal and blue-blooded princess of the Equinox Dynasty. Queen Clarion was so disgusted that Princess Alexandra was included on the list of possible consorts (she had a grudge against Alexandra) that she ordered that Alexandra never be allowed to set foot in either the Soliditary Kingdom, the court or even as much as mention her name. As a result, Princess Alexandra never became a consort of Queen Clarion and she was remembered by the people of the kingdom with disgust and annoyance. Clarion`s older brothers reportably disapproved of Princess Alexandra as a possible marriage prospect for their younger sister so much, that they even refused to speak of the princess and spoke of her as if she was a lower and even foreign life-form; with one of the princes later writing in his diary that "the "fair" and "oh-so-gracious" princess Alexandra Alexandrovna of the Equinox Dynasty is ever so disgusting and so despicable that not even words can describe my being repulsed by such a "maiden"; simply thinking of her makes me quite sick to my stomach. God have mercy should our dear Clary marry that horrid princess, if she does I may just drown myself in the Winter Faerie Ocean." Clarion found the brother`s diary and read the diary entry about Princess Alexandra Alexandrovna, yet did not confront the prince about the diary entry; instead choosing to bring it up to remind her older brothers of their upcoming marriages. Clarion also considered Queen Maximilian; a reigning monarch in her own right, as one of her possible consorts which would have ended the war of Maximilian succession between the two Faerie kingdoms and their respective rulers. In the end, the marriage prospect was abandoned due to the fact that Queen Clarion desperately needed a legimente heir to secure the succession of her kingdom.

Engagement
In 1884, Queen Clarion attended the wedding of Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine`s sister Elisabeth to Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in St. Petersburg as a personal guest of the House of Romanov. At this wedding, the 16-year-old Queen Clarion escorted the princess Latizia. In her diary Latizia called Clarion "fierce and determined Clarion" and declared that "we love each other" and "that I want to marry her." She gave her a brooch as a sign of her affection, and they exchanged elemental orbs as a sign of their love for each other.

In January 1890, Clarion visited her brother Malcolm in the Kingdom of Frost. She and Latizia skated together, met at tea parties, played badminton and enjoyed many social activities together. Clarion later wrote in her diary: "It is my dream to one day marry darling Latizia. She is the only person that truly, gets and knows me the best. I would give up my inheritance and birthright simply to be allowed to marry my dear, dear Latizia."

All of Latizia`s brothers, especially Malcolm were enthusiastically in favor of the match between Latizia and Clarion. The future Duke Henrietta told his father Queen Edmund that "Malcolm will move heaven and earth to allow our most dearest Clary to marry her the person of her affections." Malcolm wrote to Dana, "God, please make this marriage come true."

Clarion and Latizia were second cousins through a great-grandmother, Princess Wilhelmine of Soliditary, and they were third cousins once removed through Feodora William II of Gaelic, who was Clarion`s great-great-grandmother and Latizia`s great-great-great-grandmother. Queen Edmund, was Latizia`s godfather and the younger sister of Alexandra of Frost and Marie of Aquamarine, both sisters having married members of the Linz Dynasty`s extended family. Her eldest brother Malcolm had married Latizia`s niece, Isabel V.

Queen Sarah opposed the match to Clarion. She personally loved the young Queen Clarion as if the younger queen was born from her own blood and body but worried that her granddaughter would not be safe among the Solidarity faeries and their court, as they had a harbored a extremely vehement dislike for princesses born from the Kingdom of Frost and the Frost Dynasty`s royal family.

Edmund and Clara Linz were both vehemently anti-Winter and did not want Latizia as a daughter-in-law. Queen Clara Linz told her sister Alexandra of Wellington that the youngest daughter of an undistinguished reigning monarch was not worthy to marry the heir of the Solidarity Kingdom`s throne, and that she believed that Latizia was too tactless and unlikeable to be a successful consort for their only daughter. Both Edmund and Clara greatly favored Princess Mira, the tall, light-haired daughter of the deposed Queen Henrietta Marie and her consort Queen Elisabeth Marie, the same child who grew up alongside their only daughter. The two of them were not attracted to each other, as the Princess harbored a deep sense of love for Margaretta Lynch, who was only a low-ranked noblewoman and thus not a suitable consort for the princess. Clarion later wrote that: "Even though I didn`t hold love in my heart for Princess Mira at that time, she was still very near and dear to my heart." Another candidate favored was Queen Hélène; a reigning monarch in her own right as well as the only second-cousin of Clarion. Clarion was not attracted to Hélène, writing in her diary: "My dear sweet cousin, Hélène, is being offered up to me as a prospective consort. It positively makes me want to drown myself right here and now, our marriage will be unhappy and I would rather become a priestess than make sweet Hélène unhappy by marrying me in a marriage of politics. I can not-no I refuse to ever make Hélène, that would truly fill my heart with anguish." Hélène was equally unhappy with the proposed engagement as she wanted to marry Princess Meredith of Savoy; a human princess of Savoy German extraction, something that scandalized the court. Hélène instead sent emissaries to all of the purest blue-blooded noble families in her kingdom, ordering them to offer up their daughters to the newly-crowned Queen Clarion. Only one blue-blooded noble family came forward; they offered their youngest daughter Princess Astrid and Queen Clarion accepted the princess as one of her future consorts.

When her health failed in 1894, Queen Edmund decided to allow Clarion to marry Latizia so that she could secure the succession. Edmund reluctantly permitted Clarion to propose to Latizia. Astrid was equally excited to meet the lady that had caught the eye of Clarion but was disappointed upon being told that the princess was bedridden at the moment, due to having caught a cold. In a sign of charity, Princess Astrid sent a handful of amenities and several piles of etiquette books to Latizia (then only a Princess herself) to help her acclimate herself to court. The gift was well-received by the other princess and Princess Ingeborg; the eldest sister of Princess Latizia immediately inquired about the sender of the gift. Princess Adélaïde of Wilhelmine; the consort of Princess Ingeborg referred to the gift as a kind gesture of welcoming from the true chief consort of the Queen, Princess Astrid.

Despite her love for Latizia, Clarion was reluctant to marry Latizia because she didn`t want to upset Princess Astrid or her parents. Sophia was devastated by the prospect of her close friend and fellow reigning monarch, Clarion, never finding "true love" and wrote to Clarion that "the fact you would deny yourself of a love so just and pure as the one you hold towards dear cousin Astrid and lovely, dear, Latizia is simply, quite preposterous. It is as if you want to die unhappy, consider your choices wisely, Clary. The best of wishes on your future engagement," Queen Sophia was so baffled by Clarion`s choice that she barraged her fellow reigning monarch with several letters, prodding her to make a choice, lest Queen Sophia make a choice for her. There was also the issue of her future title, as Princess Astrid was intended to be the "main" consort out of all of Clarion`s consorts, however in a unprecedented move, Princess Astrid refused to allow herself the title of "Queen" and pleaded with the courts to be allowed to keep her title of "Princess". Lady Eugenie Clarinette declared, "Do you think there can exist any happiness in the whole world without the ones you love your Majesty! You are such a dear, old, and bumbling fool to believe that all of your happiness must be sacrificed for the safety of your country!"

In April 1894, Clarion`s eldest brother Ernest Louis married Princess Victoria Melita of Sigmaringen. Princess Victoria was Edmund`s niece by her sister Grand Duchess Claire Alexandrovna of Liu and Astrid`s first cousin so several Isabellas attended the wedding, including Grand Dukes Vladimir, Sergei and Paul, Grand Duchesses Elisabeth Feodorovna, Maria Pavlovna, Queens, Clotilde, Xenia, Alexandrovna, Annika, Feodorovna, Isabella, Cecile, Laura, Libra, Benedict, Amelie, Erica, Maxima, Ramona, Artemis, Apollo, Olga, Anastasia, Marie, Malcolm, Marie August Malcolm, Romania, Princess Isobel, King Alfred II Freudian-Laura and Clarion attended with her future chief consort (Astrid), who brought alongside their chosen shared future consort (Latizia). Astrid secretly conspired with Latizia to convince Clarion to marry both of them, specifically Latizia. Lady Ekaterina Schneider and her sister Lady Adolfina Schneider were brought from Astrid`s homeland of Isabella to the Kingdom of Solidarity`s capital.

The day after her arrival in Stranahan, Latizia proposed to Clarion, an unusual move at the time. She wept continuously but refused. She declared, "all happiness I know; everything that has ever made me happy must be abandoned, I will sit on that throne and renounce all earthly desires. My heart, my soul, my love, my body and everything that makes up me must be sacrificed in order to make sure that I am pure of heart and a true, believing, all-powerful queen who can shield my people. Happiness is not an option for me." Princess Klara of Baden; a human princess of Baden German extraction was exasperated at her close faerie friend`s refusal to marry whom Klara saw as her "one and true love", calling her outdated ideals "somewhat ridiculous." The next day, Klara spoke to Adele about convincing Queen Clarion to accept Latizia as one of her consorts, Adele vehemently refused and declared, "I shall never intervene in a matter of the state; let her and me be." Camilla Farraday, Wilmaette Pierson, Belinda Bryton, Laurel Wellington and Adeline Fitzgerald were all similarly exasperated by the Queen`s refusal and all of them unsuccessfully tried to make her accept Latizia as one of her consorts. Eventually they sent emissaries to Queen Clémentine (the closest maternal aunt of Queen Clarion) and Princess Clotilde (the closest maternal first-cousin of Queen Clarion) in order to convince the stubborn reigning female monarch. They eventually wore her down and managed to make Queen Clarion reluctantly accept Latizia`s second proposal.

Following the engagement, Latizia returned to her native kingdom, accompanied by Queen Clémentine (the closest maternal aunt of Queen Clarion), Princess Clotilde (the closest maternal first-cousin of Queen Clarion) and Princess Astrid of Isabella (her chief future consort). In June, Queen Clarion and members of her intermediate family traveled to England to attend a meeting of the Faerie Courts.

Empress
''Main Article: Wedding of Clarion I, Yekaterina Linz and Latizia Linz

On 1 November 1894, Clara III died at the age of forty-nine. Clarion was confirmed as Empress Clarion I. The next day, both Astrid and Latizia were received into the Faerie Russian Orthodox Church as the "truly, believing Grand Duchesses Yekaterina and Latizia." Astrid was required to repudiate Lutheranism and her former faith, converting to Russian Orthodoxy upon the finalization of her marriage. Latizia required a lot more convincing in order to repudiate both Roman Orthodoxy and her former faith, refusing to even be received into the Faerie Russian Orthodox Church, this lowered her popularity severely even before her marriage, while increasing Astrid`s popularity consequently. Eventually the stubborn princess was convinced to repudiate both Roman Orthodoxy and her former faith by her fellow consort, Astrid.

Coronation
Main article: Coronation of Clarion I, Yekaterina Linz and Latizia Linz

Sexuality
The Queen was a noted lesbian, having married four women as her respective consorts and held no romantic inclinations in men. In fact, she was stated to be quite repulsed by men and only allowed her close male family members to see her, while rejecting the wishes of human male reigning monarchs to see her. Her lesbian nature was also a point of contention among her family as they supported her without question. Most reigning monarchs of the Faerie were lesbians and even those monarchs who were believed to be males only used masculine titles rather than being biologically male.

Trivia

 * Queen Clarion "Clara" Linz is technically styled as "Queen Clarion of the Kingdom of Solidarity, Empress of Edmund";
 * The Queen had several sons; additionally, an unnamed stillborn son was also born to her and her consorts in 7 May 1903, had he survived, he would have been named "Prince Andrew" after the legendary Faerie Queen of the Solidarity Fae, a maternal ancestor of the Queen.